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Rock Angel
Rock Angel is a japanese singer and photographer. She has been working in the music business since 2007 and she is part of the "Use Your Imagination" - Project. Rise in Popularity Before Discovery Rock Angel, actually called Mimi Akie, gave an interview, which was included in a four episodes long series - "Where Angels Come From" - about her early life. She herself has always called it ordinary and it does look like that, but only if you don´t take a close look. Starting with her family: The Akie´s were a small family in a small town. They led a good normal life, but Mimi´s uncle, Okamoto Akie, had been frustrated and desperate for quite long, because of money problems. In 1998, when Mimi was four years old, he took her with him, just to take a walk as he told her parents, but he actually took her with him to a bank in town, which he tried to rob. Okamoto threatened the employees in the bank, he´d hurt Mimi, if they wouldn´t give him money. He didn´t achieve his goal, someone soon called the police and he was taken to prison. Mimi wasn´t hurt at all and today can´t remember it. In her interview she sad, she´s actually dissapointed, not to have such exiting memories, but of course she was happy nothing worse had happened (Okamoto Akie was released in 2002 and reconciled with his brother´s family, he found a good job in 2003 and today is a married man and father and respected member of the society). Mimi Akie went to school for 5 years in her hometown and then moved with her family to Osaka. When getting into 8th grade she started to take singing lessons and worked hard to get top of her music class. Her parents explained to the interviewers, that they had noticed a sudden change in Mimi, who had been quiet before and more a book reader and quiet photographer, than a musician. Mimi tried to create a band, but it didn´t hold long, as she and another member argued too often about, who´d sing, how the music and lyrics had to be and lots of other things. The band ("Man Taberu Ran") kicked Mimi out in 2009 and continued on their own. They got more fans and many more haters, when Mimi´s success started in 2010. 1st & 2nd Album Mimi had already got attention from Shiina Ringo in early 2009, while the singer went (disguised) through an famous shopping mall. Back then Mimi was still performing with "Man Taberu Ran" and they gave a little improvised concert there. They played three songs and impressed Shiina a lot, so she wanted to write the girls names down, but before she could get their names, "Man Taberu Ran" was forced to leave by employees of the shops arround. In autumn 2010 Mimi Akie went alone to an audition in Osaka led by Shiina and Sail. That day she had run away from school before it ended and appeared in the audition´s room with the words: "I should be having Maths now..." She impressed Shiina and Sail a lot and they decided to put her into the close-pitch selection and finally was taken. When Akie got the letter with the response from Shiina and Sail, that she was taken and could become part of the UYI - Project, she first blenched. When Akie had made sure, she´d be allowed to write her own songs, she finally agreed to join. A whole month, a October, she worked (at home) to write lyrics and melodys for her songs. In an interview for "Where Angels Come From" she admitted, she had her mum look through her english texts to correct mistakes. In the start of September she spent time with Sail at the recording studio record "Alley", "Rugby" and "Japanese Girl", which was the first single released. It didn´t sell well and Akie was very dissopointed, so she tried to record a single with the help of Shiina. They recorded "Black & White" and "Grafitti", Akie´s 2nd single. "Grafitti" sold a little better than "Japanese Girl", but Akie was already officially considered a flop and was often put next to the successful Kira Winter, who was a member of the UYI - Project too and was selling single after single. When Akie wanted to give up, Shiina and Sail made her record once more song, with the help of both of them. Akie wasn´t satisfied with the result, but the song, "Close Up" finally became a hit, after Akie played it live various times on TV. The album, "Close Up", named after the hit single, became an average success, but Akie was now convinced she could have her really big breakthrough. And she did have it, with her two singles "Extravagance" and "U Are Mine". Her first ballad "Sister", didn´t get as much attention, but her second album "U´n´Me", entirely self-written, released in February 2011 sold very well. In March Akie stated, that she wanted to release a single, to help the victims of the earthquake / tsunami. Most of the money recieved for the single, will be spent to organisations, to help. Akie lost a cousin in the catastrophe, so she says, the song is going to be about the personal pain of many people. She isn´t sure about the title yet. Suggestions are "Sora No Hinan-Sho" and "Kojin-Tekina Hakai". Style Coming... Discography *Close Up *U´n´Me Category:Female Category:Asian Category:UYI Member Category:JPop Artist Category:JRock Artist Category:Japanese Category:Thai